Poll: 1 in 4 teenage girls in the United States has an STD

Inogenius

I think a lot of this is because America is one of the most sexually oppressed countries, in the world. We're all taught that sex is naughty, penis' are for private, boobs are for private, vaginas are for popping out babies out. How many times have you simply pointed out someone's boobs just to get a rise out of someone else? I do it all the time. I'm not saying that living a promiscuous lifestyle is the fix. What I'm saying is that sex is natural. People are going to think about sex. People are going to have sex. Lets not turn the blind eye to it. Lets accept it, educate our children on it, prepare for it, and carry with our lives.

Jayman

Super Moderator

Agreed. Have you ever seen a UK Maxim versus one made in the US? The content they can show on their magazine has some nudity...do you think they would sell that to someone here in America that was under 18? No way. You are correct in that we are too sheltered from this as children. Look at the television that is shown to any age over in Europe. Less sensored. And I don't have statistics to quote, but I'm sure the amount of STD's over there is a lower percentage than ours.

Now whether or not those two things (STDs & perception of nudity) can be found to be directly related, I can't prove..but somehow I think so.

Dakstang

WC's Resident Redneck

I don't agree at all.

Nearly all kids have access to the internet today. They can see nudity any time they want to see it.

I don't think the answer to reducing STD's is giving access to teenagers to view nudity...

Jayman

Super Moderator

I don't think that's an answer either. I was just making an observation.

But even you said Dak, "It's the parents job" to monitor their kids. But as you just said above...kids will find a way to access anything, whether it's drugs, or sex, or whatever. Kids are smart these days, but along with that parents are more clueless than ever.

Dakstang

WC's Resident Redneck

Yeah, I agree.

Kids today can get access to a lot of material that they should not be seeing.

But parents of today seem not to have the time of parents in the past. Both parents must work in most households to make a living and that severely reduces the time spent with kids and the quality of the time spent with their kids. I think this is a serious issue that must be addressed in our society.

Jayman

Super Moderator

Well, to address that issue in society, you are going to have to go against the legions of women who believe that they should have rights equal to men, and be viewed in positive light by getting out of the house and into the workforce along with the men.

Many of these women are mom's, and in the past 15 years or so, the amount of mothers working during the day has risen. As a result, kids are forced into extended daycare both before and after school, and in the summer when kids aren't in school, they see a babysitter more often than their parents.

It's a shame, my mom never worked as we grew up, and as a result we had a closer relationship, and she always watched out for us. It was nice, because some of my friends were always with a babysitter and had crazy rules.

But bringing it back to the point of the poll...I'm not saying kids raised like I was will automatically not get into major trouble, but it helps having parents in your everyday life watching over you and guiding you to become a responsible adult.

Dakstang

WC's Resident Redneck

I agree. It does not automatically mean a child will become a responsible adult, but bonding with parents and being close to them only helps a child develop into a responsible adult.

My mom was always a stay at home mom and I feel really fortunate for that because I feel that it really helped me and brother and sisters. I was also fortunate to have a lot of time with my dad. He retired when I was five years old so I got to spend a lot of time with him as well.

From the statistics I have read, Americans work more hours than any other people in the world as a country. We also have less time off. This is a systemic problem in the American work force and the American way of life. Sadly I don't really see it changing, but I think it is causing immeasurable problems in our society.

Danny Diamond

Founder/Admin

Can you bust out your stat book one more time? I would counter point that in the 70's and 80's women's lib and power at the workplace really took off. Most mothers felt liberated and obligated as a woman to work and prove their worth in society. I, being a product of the 70's and 80's was one of MANY of my friends who had neither a mother or father home until sometimes 7'oclock at night. This was a VERY common trend in the 70's/80's. Now these girls that are in their late 20's early 30's are finding themselves to be new moms and I see more and more women staying home with their children again.

So maybe its the 90's dot.com kids that got stuck somewhere in between.

Not sure, but the "breakdown of American Families" happened about 35 years ago my friend. My generation is hopefully bringing it back together. The children come first in my household and growing up I felt like I was just kinda in the way.

Inogenius

Viewing nudity of course isn't the answer. Becoming an open society, and accepting the fact that our children think about sex is the answer. But even so, when do kids view nudity on the internet? By themselves, in secret. And it goes the same for having sex; they do it, in secret, unprotected, and carelessly.

Dakstang

WC's Resident Redneck

My point exactly. Not enough parental supervision because parents have too much on their plate in our society today.